From drug sick to homesick – Kevin McKidd makes a comeback in Sx Four
The phrase “You can take the boy out of Scotland, but you can’t take Scotland out of the boy” could have been coined for Kevin McKidd. After starring in cult lm Trainspotting as the hapless Tommy, he moved to Hollywood in the early noughties and has been living there ever since. Cast as Dr Owen Hunt in long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy in 2008, he continues to be a mainstay of the show 15 years on.
Yet despite his Stateside mega-success, it’s clear his heart remains in the Highlands and while his new ITVX police drama, Six Four, was predominantly filmed in Edinburgh and Glasgow, rather than his native Elgin, it was a joy to be back.
“I get quite horribly homesick a lot of the time and had been wanting to work in Scotland again for ages,” he confirms over Zoom from Los Angeles. “It felt like such a lovely homecoming to be back.”
In Six Four, based on a hit Japanese novel, the 49-year-old plays a police of officer, Chris O’Neill, whose daughter’s disappearance leads him to the unresolved case of another missing local girl called Julie Mackie.
As Chris delves deeper, he uncovers evidence of errors, corruption, and unbridled ambition. Meanwhile, his wife Michelle, a former undercover of officer played by Boiling Point star Vinette Robinson, 42 is sucked into the criminal underworld by the hunt for their daughter.
Filmed last summer, during a break from Grey’s Anatomy, the drama seems to have anticipated some of the current turbulence in Scottish politics following the recent resignation of Nicola Sturgeon.
“It basically took up the whole of my summer break,” he recalls. “It was exhausting but also weirdly relaxing. It was nice not have to do an American accent all the time like I obviously do on Grey’s Anatomy.
“To speak in my own voice felt like put- ting on a favourite pair of trainers or an old T-shirt – really, really comfortable.”
As a supporter of Scottish Independence, I wonder if McKidd is disappointed at Ms Sturgeon’s resignation?
“I don’t blame her for doing so,” he says.
“I think politics everywhere, in general, is becoming more and more polarised and this makes the world a more dangerous place to be.”
That polarisation, the cover-ups and conspiracy theories that seem to have gripped so many people, are center-stage in the new drama.
“In real life, so many of us feel this,” he continues. “In turn, it leads to conspiracy theories getting a foothold and entering people’s psychology – because we have a sense that we’re not being told everything.
“For my character, Chris, it’s about these crimes that seem connected to politics. He is ignited by searching out the truth. It’s what we all want in life. In the political discourse of our society, we’re searching for transparency and the truth.”
A chase scene from Six Four reminded him of the unforgettable opening sequence to the darkly-comedic Trainspotting featuring a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life.
Directed by Danny Boyle, who went on to orchestrate the 2012 London Olympics’ opening ceremony, McKidd played Tommy Mackenzie, the clean-cut sportsman corrupted by the drug addiction of his friends, specifically, Mark Renton, played by Ewan McGregor
“Where the lads are being chased, at breakneck speed, down Princes Street by security guards,” he smiles.
“My character in Six Four, Chris is involved in a similar chase through the streets of Edinburgh and it felt a bit like deja-vu – a real throwback.”
Filming on the streets of Scotland’s two largest cities wasn’t always easy.
“I’d get people coming up to me or hang- ing out of windows asking me what we were filming and whether I was that guy from Trainspotting,” he smiles.
“We ended up saying we were filming a new show, a prequel to the famous Scottish crime TV drama Taggart, and that I was playing the title role – Taggart’s dad!”
McKidd also connected with the film crew.
“The gaffers and the sparks and the camera guys – I knew quite a few of them from the old days. There was just loads of laughter, banter, cracking gags, and reminiscing.”
Not only is McKidd a successful actor, but he is multi-talented behind the camera, too.
In the 15 years he’s played the character of medic Owen Hunter in Grey’s Anatomy, he has also directed 30 episodes.
Quite an achievement, especially since he was, at times, considered “washed-up” in the aftermath of Trainspotting.
“After Trainspotting, work dried up,” he recalls. “By the time of the premiere, I had no money and I had to borrow a suit.”
Many advised him to move to America.
“The Trainspotting cast were all doing really well and Ewan had just got the Star Wars gig.
“However, this is one of the only times I listened to my gut – and got it right. I was a reasonably innocent boy from Elgin and didn’t have much street smart about me. Los Angeles would have just chewed me up and spat me out.”
During his mid-20s, by which time he was married with two young children, McKidd was forced to take jobs on building sites and Bin pubs to support himself and his family.
But gradually his acting work began to flourish again, with theatre roles and then the 2002 action horror film Dog Soldiers.
A year later, he found himself in Bucharest, Romania, filming the historical mini-series Gunpowder, Treason & Plot. Through this, he met the producer of the future HBO hit Rome and made the first steps to securing the role of Lucius in the mega-successful mini-series.
One thing led to another with McKidd eventually landing his part in Grey’s Anatomy. “I get annoyed when people refer to my ‘overnight success’,” he says.
“I had 15 years of really hard work before I got the Rome gig. I wanted to be known for a diverse bunch of things. That was the plan I had in my head. I didn’t know how to implement it, but I set that intention.”
An intention he’s achieved – and then some. But what about the future?
A single father-of-four – “two in college, two under five” – who recently separated from his second wife, chef Arielle Goldrath, McKidd is currently appearing in the 19th season of Grey’s Anatomy, which is now streaming on the Disney Channel.
But he’s also hopeful of revisiting Chris O’Neill in a second series of Six Four.
“I think there’s potential for a second season,” he says optimistically.
“I would do it. I feel Chris is worth revisiting. He’s a compelling, interesting anti-hero.”
And there’s an added bonus: it would give the talented McKidd another chance to spend some time in the beloved country of his birth.
- Six Four is streaming now on ITVX
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